Do You Refridgerate Margarine?

[100%Disney]

My SIL leaves hers in the cupboard. I am just waiting for one of them to get sick from it.

 

[~*Belle 2003*~]

I don't eat it myself, but if I did, I would most definetely refrigerate it!

 

[dizneenut]

Ewww! I definitely refrigerate mine!!

 

[Microcell]

I do refrigerate mine, but I don't think it would harm them to put in cupboard since I don't think it is much more than salted vegetable oil!

 

[MagicalMom]

Ewwwwwww. I couldn't imagine not refrigerating it!

 

[jeffemy]

yuck! I refrigerate mine.

 

[Robinrs]

I HATE margerine but did grow up on it and it was ALWAYS in the refrigerator. I guess some people treat it like lard instead of butter... I thought it would melt if not refrigerated!

 

[pumba]

oil part would separate from the water. it is not something that I would want to put out on the table to use after it separates.....

 

[Patio]

I ALWAYS refrigerate mine.

 

[mommytotwo]

Yes. It is refrigerated at the store, so when we bring it home, we do the same.

 

[Pooh67_68]

I don't know about her store, but here it is in the refridgerated section. So yes if we ate margarine I would put it in the refrigerator.

 

[ZachnElli]

Definitely refrigerate! I grew up with unrefrigerated butter though and I still think that's weird!

 

[Micca]

We don't use margarine, but we always have a small amount of butter that is not refrigerated. It's good on toast, mashed potatoes, veggies, etc. Never got sick from it either.

 

[Dopey Sharon]

We use butter and I don't refrigerate it. It's in a cabinet, in a butter dish. My mother always left it out, so I do the same.

Question to those of you who keep it in the refrigerator...how do you spread it on bread without ripping the bread?

 

[monarchsfan16]

We put it in the fridge here at home but grammy has left hers on the counter always, and I've never gotten sick off her cooking. And neither has anyone else in her house. So it must be ok.
As for separating it only separates if it gets really warm. In northern NH where my grammy lives, and even here in southern NH, it's not a problem.

 

[LisaZoe]

We use margarine so seldom that when I do buy it, I keep it refridgerated to extend the shelf life. Growing up, I think we left the "in use" tub out so it was spreadable but kept any unopened ones in the refridgerator. I think it only separated if it got really hot. Otherwise, we never had any problems, health or otherwise, from eating it this way.

As for butter, if I know I'll be using it with a day or two, I'll put it in a serving dish and leave it out so it is soft enough to spread. Otherwise it's also refridgerated as I know it can get rancid. I don't know how long that takes but it's not worth the risk since we don't eat butter often either. If I need some butter and it's not soft enough to be spreadable, I just put it in the microwave for a few seconds. You have to watch it so it doesn't melt, of course.

On a similar topic, I also refridgerate peanut butter. Again, we don't eat it quickly and it keeps longer in the refridgerator then if it's left at room temperature. It's harder to spread when cold so I sometimes put a bit in a small dish and microwave it a bit.

 

[Lachesis00]

yucccck it has to be refrigerated!

 

[Blondie]

I treat margerine and butter like all other dairy products, by refridgerating it to keep it cold and fresh. Eggs, butter, milk, and cheese all go into the fridge!

 

[Blondie]

I just "asked Jeeves" about leaving butter out and here's what I found:

My family leaves the butter out on the counter. Isn't there any other danger other than rancidity? It doesn't last long, but it just seems really scary to me to leave an animal product out without refrigeration and say it's OK?

There is very little to worry about leaving butter out on the counter, although we do not recommend the practice. Butter is made from pasteurized milk, so unless there is gross contamination after pasteurizing (which almost never happens) the butter gets to your house in very safe condition. Butter has very little water in it (about 20% which is not much in the world of food) and it has a fair amount of salt in it (about 5-10% in the water portion) so there is little danger of pathogen growth. Butter can support the growth of molds but it usually takes several weeks and ideal conditions to occur.

I am not aware of any outbreak of food-borne illness associated with butter in the past 20 years. There are some older cases, usually with unpasteurized butter, causing outbreaks of Staphylococcus aureus. This is a mild, flu-like disease that is almost never life threatening.

However, my recommendation is to store butter covered in the refrigerator between meals. It will significantly increase the shelf-live and virtually assure safety. On the other hand, do not worry too much about your family’s health related to un-refrigerated butter.

Source: Douglas Holt, Ph.D., Chair of Food Science Program & State Extension Specialist for Food Safety, University of Missouri-Columbia


I also found:

Butter and margarine should be refrigerated to prevent rancidity. They will stay fresh in the refrigerator for two to three weeks. If wrapped, they can be frozen for up to six months. Note: Both easily pick up odors from other foods in the refrigerator if not kept tightly covered.

 

[PatsMom]

I don't use margarine and refrigerate my butter but I grew up with the margarine in the cupboard, not the refrigerator. There were four of us kids and none of us ever got sick. My mother and grandmother still leave the margarine out - Ma is 67 and grandmother is 88 so it obviously hasn't killed them yet.